Most people are worried about looking stiff or awkward when they have their picture taken. If you don’t spend much time in front of a camera, there’s no particular reason you would know what to do. Even people who are photographed regularly need some direction.
I don’t expect you to come in knowing how to pose. We’ll take a few pictures, have a look at them and make some adjustments. It’s fairly straightforward once we get going.
There’s quite a bit we can change
I work in film and television, where getting the lighting right can involve a lot of people, equipment and things you have very little control over. In the studio, I’ve got one person to light and I can move pretty much everything around.
The camera position, which way you’re facing and where the light is coming from all affect how you look. If you’re used to phone photos taken at arm’s length, or group photos where nobody was paying much attention to the light, you haven’t necessarily seen yourself photographed under particularly good conditions.
I spent a great deal of the pandemic practising headshots on myself. It gave me time to see what happened when I moved a light, changed the camera angle or adjusted my expression. It also meant spending a lot of time looking at pictures of my own face, which takes some getting used to.
What happens during the shoot?
We’ll start by talking about what you need the pictures for. I’m happy to look at references if there’s something specific you have in mind.
Then we’ll take some photographs. I’ll give you direction on posture and expression, adjust the lighting and show you the results as we go. You can tell me what you like and what you’re unsure about, and we’ll work from there.
We can try different outfits, backgrounds and expressions. I generally like to give people a good variety to choose from, and seeing the photographs together helps us decide what to explore further.
For wardrobe, bring stuff you feel comfortable and confident in. If you’re unsure about something, bring it along and we can have a look. You don’t need to have everything worked out before you get here.